AP source: Wild hire Todd Richards as head coach
The Minnesota Wild have hired San Jose Sharks assistant Todd Richards to be their next head coach.
A person with knowledge of the hire confirmed the hiring Monday to The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made.
Richards spent one season with the Sharks after two years as head coach of Pittsburgh's top farm club while new Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher was an assistant GM for the Penguins.
Richards is from the Minneapolis suburb of Crystal. He's a former defenseman for the University of Minnesota who played briefly for the Hartford Whalers and spent several years in the minors before turning to coaching.
He's the second coach in the team's nine years. Jacques Lemaire resigned in April.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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